Acid Attack Survivor Reshma Qureshi Walked the Runway at New York Fashion Week, Was a Hero to Us All

Beauty may be skin deep, but strength of spirit runs deep and spreads far. At the New York Fashion Week show for Indian designer Archana Kochhar, model Reshma Qureshi inspired all this and more by walking the runway and proudly displaying her scars to the world.

In 2014, Qureshi was attacked with sulfuric acid by three men, including her brother-in-law. He was caught, but the damage had been done; Qureshi's face was forever altered by the painful attack, and she wondered how she would recover. Two years later, her partnership with Make Love Not Scars brought Qureshi to a worldwide platform to help stop acid attacks.

"I never thought in my wildest dreams that something like this would happen to me, and that I would be coming to such a big place to walk on such a big stage," Qureshi told the Associated Press.

TREVOR COLLENS/AFP/Getty Images

AFP/Getty Images

"This walk was important to me because there are so many girls like me who are survivors of acid attacks, and this will give them courage," Qureshi added. She hopes her work in beauty and fashion will inspire others to do the same and not feel restricted by arbitrary standards of beauty.

In 2015, Qureshi also filmed a viral beauty tutorial that shed light on the scary truth about the availability of harmful acids; not only are they as available in stores as a tube of lipstick—some are often even more affordable. With her help and her showstopping turn at Fashion Week, let's hope that finally changes.